Bermudian neighbourliness has come to the fore in the wake of a fire that destroyed a St. George?s warehouse and caused an estimated $1 million of damage.

The blaze in the early hours of yesterday wiped out practically the entire stock of hardware store Godet and Young. Only the goods that were in the actual shop, which is further down Wellington Street from the warehouse, were not affected.

Robert (Bobby) Oatley and wife Verna were able to open the shop for business as normal despite having their warehouse inventory totally destroyed in the fire that gutted the two-storey warehouse between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m.

Sections of the community of St. George?s and further afield have already pledged support with offers of assistance for the long-established hardware merchant, which is believed to have set up in business in the second half of the 1800s. ?We are coping even though we now have no warehouse or back-up supplies,? said Mrs. Oatley.

?A lot of people have offered help or called to offer places where we can store our inventory items when we get some new supplies. We?ve had calls from St. George?s and Hamilton.?

The couple have also had reassuring calls of support from their overseas suppliers. The fire broke out around 2.15 a.m. and led to ten fire-fighting appliances from across the Island and 41 Bermuda Fire Service personnel being called out to deal with the blaze.

But the danger posed by the highly flammable contents of the warehouse, such as paints, thinners, solvents and cleaners, together with the rapid spread of the flames meant fire-fighters were unable to risk entering the building and had to concentrate their efforts to extinguish the blaze from outside the property.

Mr. Oatley and his wife were among the first to arrive on the scene after being alerted by the emergency services.

?When we got there we still had a warehouse with a roof, but my husband was a fire-fighter for 40 years and he could see it couldn?t be saved. We are devastated. It was hard to take in what has happened,? said Mrs. Oatley.

Shortly before 6 a.m. the Chief Fire Officer declared the fire under control. However, fire-fighting crews remained at the scene until the middle of yesterday afternoon to conduct overhaul operations, excavating the charred contents of the building looking for hidden fires and hot spots.

Lt. Wenda Godfrey, of Bermuda Fire Service, said the estimated damage to the building and its contents was $1 million. She added the cause of the blaze was not yet known and an investigation was ongoing.

Speaking from the Godet and Young shop, Mrs. Oatley said: ?Customers have been coming in and saying they are sad to hear about the fire. There has been a great response. We have such loyal customers and they are telling us not to worry because they will be coming back.?

The Oatleys intend to keep the Wellington Street shop open without interruption despite the loss of the warehouse.